People

A safety mindset starts with wearing the right protective equipment. Hard hats, steel toe capped boots and high visibility jackets are the basics; but safety glasses, gloves and ear protection are good ideas to have close to hand.

Personal protective equipment makes us more visible and also reinforces the message that safety is important. Ultimately, the responsibility to keep safe rests on those most affected – the site worker.

Safety training is a good thing. But the training

should be an ongoing process rather than a single event. It should be conducted in a number of ways. We learn best by experience and therefore sitting solely in classrooms listening to lectures is unlikely to be as effective as active safety training where operatives actually use the equipment.

Manufacturers have responsibility for safety training too. At every machine handover, Volvo dealers stress the importance of carefully reading the operator’s manual, which contains numerous tips on how to operate the machine safely.